Review: The Songbird

Prolific author Marcia Willett--known for writing novels about ordinary, contemporary Brits--returns to the bucolic English countryside in The Songbird. Willett (Summer on the River, Christmas in Cornwall) sets her character-driven story in the small town of Ashburton, west of Exeter, where the old Georgian estate Brockscombe Farm is nestled amid tranquil moors, farms and the sea. The owner is Francis Courtney, a retired MP now writing his memoirs. He is an aging father and widower in his 80s. His house overlooks three cottages--converted stables--on the property, two of which are inhabited by familial relations.

One cottage is rented to Charlotte, a 32-year-old web designer and wife to Andy, a first lieutenant in the navy. The young couple has a five-month-old son, Oliver, and an endearing golden retriever, Wooster. When Andy is offered a promotion in the United States, the couple faces a crisis. Do they really want to move?

The second cottage is home to William, Andy's father and Francis's cousin. William, an accountant in his 50s, has been separated for several years from Fiona, his wife and Andy's mother. She left him to pursue an affair and a highfalutin architectural career in London, but Fiona begins paying regular visits to Brockscombe to bond with her new grandson. Are her motives in returning sincere, and will she be welcomed back into the fold?

William shares his cottage with his other cousin, Kat, a retired ballet dancer in her 60s. Kat is a creative spirit coming to grips with the death of her Polish lover. Might her grief dissipate under the spell of a dashing drama teacher and widower she meets in the local coffee shop?

The third cottage is empty until Tim, on sabbatical, arrives to take a six-month lease. Connected to the others through Charlotte's sister, Tim is trying to regroup after a painful break-up with his girlfriend. He is also secretly battling a neurological disease in its early stages. For Tim, the atmosphere in Brockscombe proves as healing as the warm acceptance he receives from his new neighbors.

The tight-knit residents quickly become Tim's friends and confidantes--in particular, Francis, who takes a shine to him and identifies with his need for privacy. As the older and younger men forge a friendship, they share stories about their pasts--including secrets. Will the folks at Brockscombe treat Tim differently if they know the truth about him?

Willett is an elegant writer and an unhurried storyteller. She understands people and the private burdens they carry, while empathizing with the consequences of their actions. This moving, multigenerational saga slowly reveals the essence of her fully realized cast of characters as the intimate stories of their lives unspool with tender, hopeful grace. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines.

Shelf Talker: In this tender novel, the bonds among inhabitants of a British estate transcend the stories, burdens and secrets of their lives.

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